Help me OB-1 Mogami: You’re my only hope

[Wulfmann]

In two years of RUB, GW and GWX I had never intercepted a true full fledged battle squadron.
Now in SH4 on my first patrol (this career) in an old Pig boat, the S-40 I had left Manila sank two merchants north of Luzon by gunfire but was ordered south to the Java Sea.
I had made my way through and then west and north into the south part of the South China Sea and was heading back towards Java when a warship was reported by lookouts. I decided to have a look and as I approached larger silhouettes loomed.
At first I thought it was a cruiser squad but as I got closer I was sure I had run into two battleships of the Ise class with an Aoba class heavy cruiser and a bunch of DDs.
They had also noticed me.
Well, I quickly saw the end of my career in this slow diver as they all opened up on me but I managed to get under without damage and poured on the coal for a hopeful intercept. The escorts made for me but after two years in the Kriegsmarine this jumped sides Kaleun did a couple maneuvers to keep the first two runs off guard.
It looked like I had no shot at the big ones but the Aoba was flanked to the BB’s starboard and I was sure if the DDs did not get me soon enough I would have a set up.
As I found my sweet spot and was ready to wait for the cruiser the whole group made a turn to starboard and I had to quickly back up to avoid being run down by the Aoba class.
However, this set me up for a shot at the second in line battlewagon. Now I was getting excited at the thought of the ticker tape parade, the Medal of Honor and a bunch of babes wanting to thank me personally.
So far I had either acted correctly or was lucky.
More likely a little of both.
I was in a perfect flat dead on zero firing position with 4 tubes opened and ready.
All I had to do was not blow it.
This was all happening so fast the longer than paint drying TDC method on this tub was of no use. It was the last 15 minutes of Saving Private Ryan and no sniper set up, this was a dog fight with the hounds at my tail setting me up for a 3 DD DC run.
I had him; the Jap battleship was all but sunk.
I fired 1 and 3 close, waited 2-3 seconds then fired 2 and 4.
I watched as zero moved from bow to bridge to amidships then finally a torpedo impact between the mid and after turrets then a second after the turrets near the stern.

As the ship passed the stern from zero I was disappointed but hoped I might have disabled the behemoth. As I watched the battleship pass to my surprise the third torpedo hit and then the fourth but on a cruiser I never even saw, the Mogami. Oddly, she was rebuilt to have an after seaplane deck a year before she actually received it from damage that would not occur until Midway but I digress.

To my disappointment Mogami did not sink and Hyuga did not stop.
But, Mogami did stop dead in the water and the DDs had lined up like at school lunch waiting their turn at a meal----------------me!
Most know what I did, I made a beeline for the stricken cruiser and ducked underneath.

There I stayed for 8 hours. Stopped but, would the DDs leave their stricken friend perhaps fearful of the fate of the 3 Italian cruisers at Matapan?????

Or, would they wait me out until I ran out of air.
The screws grew quieter and farther away and I was able to come to peri depth and put a third fish into the Mogami and she turned turtle.

What allowed me to get the screen shots (I play 100% and have out of the box) was saving the replay (and painstakingly finding it) which gave me a look at these beautiful models although I am disappointed they incorrectly made the Mogami model as it was later rebuilt and the wrong tonnage but all in all a memorable encounter helped by many years of history study knowing the Japs would be moving on Java so was hoping I might get a lucky break. I know, Mogami is a let down when a better firing solution would have bagged a big one but more importantly I survived to finish the one patrol.

Wulfmann
The ones that got away!